Trethewey is the author of several collections of poetry, along with her nonfiction book “Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.” She was born in Gulfport, Miss., and she holds degrees in poetry from Hollins University and the University of Massachusetts.

“It is an honor and a privilege to have our country’s Poet Laureate deliver this year’s Commencement address,” President Teresa Amott said in a press release. “From its earliest days in which students organized literary societies to the present-day awards garnered by our student literary publications, Knox College has always sought to honor the poetic imagination. The selection of a poet as this year’s speaker affirms the critical role of the arts and humanities in the lives of our students and graduates.”

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Charlie Megenity

Charlie Megenity (formerly Gorney) is a senior double majoring in political science and economics. He previously served TKS as managing editor and as co-news editor while working as the weekend reporter for The Galesburg Register-Mail. Over the summer of 2012, Charlie interned in Wisconsin with Patch.com, an online hyperlocal news source, where he covered the August 2012 Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting; he will return to Patch during the summer of 2013. He is also the journalism editor for Catch magazine.. Charlie has received three awards from the Illinois College Press Association for newswriting and design, including a first place award for front page layout. He was the 2013 recipient of the Theodore Hazen Kimble Memorial Award in Journalism for a feature story published in The Knox Student. His work has also appeared in The Huffington Post.